The aspect of acoustic safety of users of headsets is gaining attention in recent years due to the rising use of headsets, such as for telecommunications applications and consuming audio, as well as due to an increase in hearing-related health issues.
In view of the above, official guidelines for workplace safety in various countries provide maximum sound pressure levels for headset users, which should not be exceeded. Accordingly, some types of modern headsets provide safety functions to assure that the output audio of the headset stays below the recommended maximum levels.
Owing to user acceptance issues, many of today's headsets allow the user to enable or disable the respective safety functions. Headsets that have the safety functions disabled however, either accidentally or on purpose, could be exposing the respective user to audio levels that may potentially be damaging to her or his hearing.
In view of the severe consequences of damage to the hearing of a user, an object exists to improve the acoustic safety of headsets and according headset systems.